Beekeeping, colony collapse disorder and the future of bees – Q&A

Buzzfeeds readers: this is a place for you to ask your bee-related questions, post links for us to include in our weekly updates and for the beekeepers among us to share tips. Alison Benjamin will pop in every week and answer your questions.

Since we launched Buzzfeeds, our weekly bee update, we've noticed a few things: one, lots of questions about colony collapse disorder are popping up in the threads – and two, many Buzzfeeds readers are experienced bee keepers. The comments are full of really interesting and important discussions, but because the threads close after three days, they always end early.

This is a place where you can discuss beekeeping tips and ask questions about bees, without being cut off. We also hope you'll contribute links that we should include in our weekly bee updates. Allison Benjamin, the Guardian's resident bee expert will pop in regularly to answer your questions.

I've been hearing about the plight and declining bee populations for a few years now and was wondering how these dips are determined by region, geography and climate? I was recently in a rural area in Nova Scotia and was amazed at the bee presence.

Honeybee losses do differ according to region, geography and climate, but it is not clear what factors are causing this. In Argentina, for example, where much of world's honey now comes from, honeybee mortality is lower than in the US and Europe, but it's not clear if this is due to more varroa-resistant honeybees or more nutritious forage for honeybees, rather than the climate and geography of the country. Pesticides implicated in honeybee deaths are used worldwide so it is unlikely that their is less pesticide use in Argentina. If anyone has more information about bees in Argentina please let me know. Incidentally, the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists have just released figures on honeybee winter losses. Across Canada, 28.6% colonies perished but in some regions it was higher - 46%in Manitoba and 37.9% in Ontaria. While in Nova Scotia, where you saw many bees, only 17% of honeybee colonies didn't survive the winter. In Ontario beekeepers cited acute and chronic pesticide damage as a contributing factor. In Manitoba weak colonies going into the winter and ailing queen bees were reasons. The long winter and cold, wet spring across the country didn't help. I don't know Novia Scotia, but I'd assume there is much less pesticide use there, and much more wild forage, such as heather, which is all good for all types of bees - honeybees and bumble bees.

As a horticulturalist and hired bees for my crops, i have heard many tales about bee losses. I am now looking at climate change and carbon sequestration by the soil and have found that modern agricultural practices of mono-culture crops with pesticide and herbicide use reduces the micro flora of the soil and the natural weed vegetation is reduced by a considerable amount. This means that under modern practices the fields are relatively baron for nectar and pollen with a few exception of some crops for very short periods of time, during which bees cannot multiply quickly enough in the local area to make full use of this localized bonanza, thereby reducing the overall population in that area.

In an earlier Guardian piece on Berts Bees, the American company, the Questions and answrs showed that berts Bees main supply of beeswax comes from wax poached from wild African hives, killing the hives on a vast scale.

Bees are important pollinators, along with butterflies, moths, hoverflies and other insects. Without bees, flowering crops that rely on insect pollination would produce lower yields. In the UK this year there is a smaller apple harvest because trees weren't pollinated this spring because the weather was too cold for many bees to perform their pollination services. If there is less food, prices will rise.

The biggest impact is no more honey. That in itself is the best justification for saving the bees. While honeybees also help pollinate many crops, bees themselves compete with other pollinators to do this job, some of which will continue doing so without honeybees. Honey is the main reason we keep honeybees, and being able to enjoy honey is why we need to preserve them.

Einstein is commonly reported as predicting that ‘if bees were to disappear from the globe, mankind would only have four years left to live’ Let’s hope we never find out. Next time you are eating an Apple and drinking a glass of Milk, think of the Bees who made it possible. Our garden has done so well this year because of my Bees

Honeybees are not indigenous to the US, or Australia or New Zealand. They were taken there by the colonialists to allow their farming practices to flourish in the new world. They can compete with native bumblebees and solitary bees for forage. All the more reason to ensure there is enough forage to feed all the bees.

Forty percent of crops depend on pollination by honeybees. If you eat food, possibly you have a stake in the survival of honeybees in Australia. They are at risk of serious decline from recently introduced pests and diseases.

Bees, whether native or not, are actively adapting to opportunities and pollinate native and non-native plants and I've been reporting on this for years.

Bumblebees are not native to Australasia and they can compete with Australian bees and honeybees.

The situation is often over simplified by people like alisonbenjamin who don't have a clue

Ameliascottage:I'll use David Goulson's list of potential harmful impacts of exotic bees on native pollen/nectar feeders here, as it's as good as anything I've seen (he was actually focusing on the effects of introduced bumblebees on natives)1.Competition with natives for floral resources; the most obvious and studied aspect.2.Competition with natives for nest sites. I would expand Goulson's definition of this to include exclusion via territorial intolerance of natives that don't compete directly for nest sites.3.Introgression with natives.4.Changes in seed set of native plants. Again, I would expand this to include seed set by plants, both native and exotic, that are of value or importance to native bees. (Gouldson also mentions the important and largely overlooked aspect of how different native and exotic pollinators affect genetic diversity in the seeds that they set; because Honeybees typically travel greater distances when foraging, they may well foster greater genetic diversity in the plants they pollinate than the often more sedentary native solitary bees, but the opposite is true when they compete with native pollinating birds, which often travel even greater distances when foraging than Honeybees.)5.Pollination of invasive weeds. Aside from anthroocentric concerns, these displace plants that whether they are native or not, are usually preferred or essential resources for native bees.6.Not included in his list, but discussed at length elsewhere in his research: transmission of parasites, pathogens, and nest pests to native bees.

1.A number of studies in different countries have confirmed that because Honeybees effectively focus on the richest sources of pollen and nectar among the plants that they visit, they depress both the numbers of native bees foraging in areas surveyed, and the time that the latter spend in any survey area (they need to travel greater distances when foraging). This appears to be the result of heavy resource utilization by Honeybees rather than their aggressive displacement of foraging native bees.Honeybees have a foraging advantage over most native US bees (other than bumblebees and carpenter bees); they are larger than most; this means they retain generated thoracic heat more efficiently, allowing them to forage at cooler temperatures and on overcast days more efficiently than smaller native bees. (Their longer tongues also enable them to draw nectar from flowers that many native bees can't utilize, but this isn't an example of direct competition.)Detailed studies of Honeybee impacts on native bees have been conducted in California, (which because of its' mediterranean precipitation patterns and generally milder climate, has very different ecosystems from your native New England). Wenner and Thorpe (1994) reported that removal of Honeybee hives and feral colonies from their study area in Santa Cruz Island resulted in a marked increase in the numbers of native bees and other flower feeding insects. D.M. Thomson studied the impact of Honeybees on the Western Bumblebee (Bombus occidentalis) by altering the locations of colonies of both species relative to colonies of the other; he concluded that presence of Honeybee colonies nearby significantly reduced the foraging rates and reproductive success of neighboring B. occidentalis colonies. As B. occidentalis, is, like A. mellifera, a generalist forager, it would in theory be less vulnerable to resource depletion by Honeybees than specialist bees dependent on a few plants that are also heavily utilized by Honeybees.2. Although the nesting ecology of most native US bees (other than bumblebees, carpenter bees, some leafcutter bees, and economically important solitary bees such as Osmia spp. and Alkali Bees (Nomia) have received little study, few appear to compete with feral Honeybees for nest sites. Some minor exclusion by guard Honeybees of native bees in the immediate vicinity of the former's colony may occur.

3.Honeybee drones don't mate with (or attempt to mate with) females of any native NA bee species, so introgression cannot occur. This IS an issue between introduced and native bumblebees, and when large numbers of drones from commercially produced native bumblebee colonies interbreed with native populations of the same or different species (in the latter case, large scale infertility or limited genetic diversity of native founder queens can result). This is because most queen bumblebees, unlike queen Honeybees, mate only once.4.If Honeybees are less efficient at pollinating native plants than native bees and other pollinators that they may displace, this would tend to reduce the seed set and reproductive fitness of such plants. This possibility has received much less attention from researchers than the preference of both Honeybees and bumblebees for potentially invasive plants that they coevolved with.

5.As many insect pollinated weed, pest, and invasive plants originate from the the same areas of the world, and thus coevolved with, Honeybees, it should come as no surprise that preferences by foraging Honeybees for such plants over many native plants are well documented. The same holds true for introduced commercial colonies of the European Bombus terrestris. By being favored with high rates of seed set, such plants are given an additional edge in competition with native plants (and the native bees and other pollinators that depend on them). 6.Most of the VERY limited research on transmission of parasites, pathogens, and nest pests between Honeybees and native bees has focused on bumblebees.Chalkbrood (Ascosphaera apis) is know to infect the native carpenter bee Xylocopa californica.Acute Bee Paralysis Virus (ABPV) and Deformed WIng Virus (DWV) are both known to infect both new and old world species of bumblebees. It is of course possible that Honeybees became infected from bumblebees, however, the widespread presence and high population densities of Honeybees in NA and Europe effectively make Honeybee colonies efficient reservoirs for infection of susceptible native bees.Ruiz-Gonzalez and Brown reported that Honeybees can function as vectors of Crithidia bombi via flowers to bumblebees. (In defense of the Honeybee, it should be pointed out that bumblebees are themselves likely to be much more efficient vectors of this parasite, both on flowers, and within their colonies). This trypanosome parasitizes a number of species of bumblebees (as far as we know, Honeybees are insusceptible to it), and stains differing from those that they may have coevolved with are suspected of playing a role in the recent decline of a number of bumblebee species, including the possibly extinct NA B. franklini. The parasite alters the behavior of its' bumblebee host, making them forage and move slowly and less efficiently. Experiments confirm that infected bumblebees are slower to learn how to collect pollen and nectar from unfamiliar flowers, and less capable of learning to associate flower color with nectar rewards. (If you're reading this, SteB1, C. bombi might be a factor in the occurrence of semicomatose/starving bumblebees that you noted; the parasite occurs in both Europe and northern NA).

6.(Continued) The Small Hive Beetle (Aethina tumida) was introduced into NA (via African and Africanized Honeybees in South America) and has proven to be a serious pest of commercial Bombus impatiens colonies in NA. It now is established iSouth and Central America, and Europe, as well, where its' impact on native bees is unknown.

I don't wish to come across as damning the Honeybee, which plays an essential role in human agriculture (including as a pollinator of many foods for human vegans!), and in existing 'natural' ecosystems. (Apis mellifera also happens to be one of my favorite species!) Lessons have been learned from the mistakes of the past; the US and Australia now ban the importation of non native bees, and Japan (where EU produced colonies of the very aggressive Bombus terrestris became naturalized and brought along an array of parasites and pathogens) now sets strict quarantine and containment requirements for the continued importation and use of bees. The parasites and pathogens introduced by Honeybees are probably with us and our native bees to stay. I've yet to see any evidence that Honeybees are DIRECTLY responsible for the extinction of any NA bee. Given that most major bee pollinated crops in NA are themselves exotics best pollinated by Honeybees (this includes soybeans and other pulses, vegans take note, please) the role of the Honeybee in NA agriculture really is largely indispensable.

JerryColebyWilliams:I'd disagree with your generalization that "Bees, whether native or not, are actively adapting to opportunities and pollinate native and non-native plants" Many solitary bees are ecological specialists that rely on one or two families of plants, or on one or two different genera of plants! The impact of introduced Western Honeybees and bumblebees on native Australian and New Zealand bees has received very little study; most studies of such impacts have been conducted in Japan, NA, and the EU. Asian bees coevolved with several Apis spp., each of which occupies a very different ecological niche. The Asian Apis cerana is closest to the Western Honeybee in ecological terms. The situation is very different in Australia and New Zealand, which as far as we know, had no native large colony forming eusocial bees. We know that Tasmania currently has over a hundred species of native bees;we know nothing about what was there before the introduction of the Honeybee. Non Australian readers may be unaware that Australia continues to ban bumblebee importation, and now promotes the use of the native Amegilla cingulata as a native "buzz pollinator" of glasshouse tomatoes, peppers, etc.

I agree with your view that given the importance of Honeybees and bumblebees to human agriculture, their role as pollinators really does override the possible decline or loss of ultraspecialist native bees as a consequence of their presence, and in such large numbers. Anthropocentric, yes, but humans, even vegans, must eat Honeybee and bumblebee pollinated products, and in most cases the animals that are reared in large part on such products.

The danger from introduced 'invasives' is SOMETIMES badly exaggerated, both by the media, and by government wildlife agencies; here in the US, state wildlife agencies long ago discovered that whipping up hysteria about such is a great way to get more federal funding and income!

Ironically, one of the bumblebee species introduced successfully to New Zealand from the UK, Bombus subterraneus, is now locally extinct (correctly, extirpated) in the UK; the possibility of reintroducing B. subterraneus from New Zealand back to the UK is now under consideration.

JerryColebyWilliams(cont'd)I also feel that your swipe at Ms. Benjamin is quite unfortunate; I'm much in agreement with her views that: 1. many of the ongoing changes in modern agricultural practices are proving to be extremely harmful to Honeybees AND other pollinators (I won't even get started on how they impact other wild fauna and flora), and 2. The steady loss of forage plants (other than monocultured forage crops) for both native and introduced pollinators is a VERY serious and steadily worsening problem. Few of my neighbors plant flowers of any kind anymore; I'm now isolated in an ecological wasteland of chemical intensive lawn grass monocultures, and an increasing percentage of the flowering plants sold (in ever dwindling quantities) at local nurseries here are of mass produced (pesticide laden) continuously flowing bedding annuals that are generally of little or no value as forage plants for pollinators.

I wonder how bee colonies are doing recovering during summer. Are beekeepers in the possibility to establish new colonies during summers? If not, what is the rate of cumulative loss? Mostly numbers are given of the losses during the last winter, put what happens if we add up the losses of the last 5 years? How near is the catastrophic scenario of loss of all colonies?

Most have done well this summer - we've supplied over 450 nuclei in the UK, but we only lost 10% over the winter as opposed to some who lost 50% plus around here. Unfortunately you do need to know what you're doing. Overall 2013 was a good year, much better than 2012 hopefully the winter won't be too bad

Beekeepers will restock their hives after winter losses. They can import bees from abroad, or restock with a swarms from a strong colony in the spring or summer, or by splitting a strong colony into two. That's why we don't have cumulative figures for bee losses.

Can someone answer this question for me:> Why does honey production go up substantially when bees forage in fields of oilseed rape - including such fields that have been treated with the substances that have been now banned?

Neonicotinoids do not kill bees instantly at the tiny levels found in nectar and pollen, but may kill bees within their expected lifespan if they are continuously exposed to this food source, particularly in winter time, when they normally survive for several months. So, neonicotinoids are rather insidious chemicals. The link between exposure and lethal effect is not immediately obvious. For the sake of argument, this is not the view of a populist, but of an experienced toxicologist. For obvious reasons Bayer and Syngenta have decided to ignore the compelling evidence I have just posted.

Oilseed rape produces copious amounts of easy-to- get nectar for honey bees so they make a beeline for it when it's in bloom. The more nectar they can collect, the more honey they can make which is why honey production increases. They are not able to detect if the flowers are treated with neonicitinoids, or not, so they will always be attracted to their nectar.

Why , if nicotinoids are meant to be the cause of colony collapse in the UK am I seeing all manner of bumble bees in as a large a quantity as ever ? Some are flying off and presumably feeding on the crops of oil seed rape which surround me . Some are lousy with mites but I am still seeing bumble bees but not honey bees. Could it be introducing non English bees has been the problem? Or bad hive management by amateurs or greedy professionals or is there something in the food supplements given to bees when the honey is removed ?

Honeybees live with a parasite called the varroa mite which weakens their immune system and could be making them more susceptible to harm when they come into contact with neonicotinoid pesticides than bumble bees. So bumblebees in your area may be doing a lot better than bumble bees. Most people see many more bumblebees in their back gardens feeding on flowers than honeybees. This is also because honeybees live in much larger colonies of 50,000 bees in the summer and therefore need a much larger food source then honeybees and will therefore fly off to fields of crops or fly high up into fruit or lime trees where you can't really see them.

Is there space for Bumblebee questions here too?I had lots of bumblebees in my little garden this summer and I made sure I stocked it with lots of flowering plants an herbs... they seemed particularly fond of the massive oregano once it started. But then suddenly they all vanished at the end of August while to was still relatively warm outside. The solitary bees kept busy another month but it went from 3-4 species of bumblebee to none in the space of a week. I've seen them active much later in to autumn and at lower temperatures before... so I'm wondering if its likely that they packed up for winter or is it more likely that they were killed by some neighbour spraying their garden a bit much? I had a caterpillar infestation in august, so I can only imagine others nearby did too..

They definitely didn't pack up for winter. If the solitary bees were still present in their previous numbers after the bumblebees disappeared, then it's unlikely (but not impossible) that local insecticide spraying for caterpillar infestations was responsible for their disappearance.

Would suggest that you check with others for feedback on bumblebee population trends in areas away from your own. SteB1 noted on another thread that he had been finding numbers of weak bumblebees that revived and flew off after being fed; this indicates that they were starving at the time (but it's very possible that they were starving because other factors prevented them from foraging properly in the first place). To elaborate a bit on this point, when bees (and many other nectar/sugar feeding flying insects, such as houseflies and blowflies) are kept from replenishing their sugar reserves by feeding, they first lose the ability to fly, but continue to run or crawl about normally for a brief time; they then become sluggish and eventually, torpid, as starvation progresses. If fed sugar (including granulated sugar[sucrose], honey diluted with water, nectar, fruit juice, etc.), they will quickly revive if they are not otherwise seriously ill.

Considerable less research has been conducted on bumblebee diseases than with Western Honeybees. I recently purchased a copy of the newest edition of David Goulson's definitive book on bumblebees, and this summarizes most of our current knowledge regarding parasites and diseases of UK bumblebees. I'd be glad to provide you with any additional information on possible health issues among your local bumblebees if you can provide additional info regarding any sick, flightless, or sluggish bumblebees that you may have found.

Researchers have found a high incidence of both parasites and diseases among commercially reared colonies of Bombus terrestris (the bumblebee species reared for commercial pollination in the EU, and imported into the UK for this purpose, though the species is also native to the UK.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23347867

I should have elaborated on why "it's unlikely (but not impossible) that local insecticide spraying for caterpillars was responsible" if solitary bees were still present in their previous numbers while bumblebees disappeared.

All bumblebee species in both the UK and North America are generalist foragers; many regularly forage from more species of plants (if they are available) than Western Honeybees do. In contrast, solitary bees are usually much more specialized in their choice of forage plants. If the plants that were sprayed aren't visited by the solitary bees that you observed as still being present, this would reduce their exposure to such pesticides. Some exposure to spray drift residue would still occur.